Batteries are often manufactured with a series of battery cells, which may be prismatic in shape to facilitate a stacking of the battery cells. Such configurations are particularly common for use in electric vehicles. Typical prismatic battery cells, such as lithium-ion battery cells, often generate significant heat during operation and during recharging. When overheated or otherwise exposed to high-temperatures, undesirable effects can impact the operation of such batteries.
As such, batteries comprising a series of battery cells may comprise one or more battery cooling plates which may be used to dissipate heat from the cells in order to prevent or at least reduce the incidence of heat damage.
In addition, such batteries may be sensitive to certain forces, such as may be experienced during a vehicle crash or other impact. Indeed, some such batteries may be destroyed or otherwise have their functionality altered in undesirable ways as a result of such impacts.
The present inventors have therefore determined that it would be desirable to provide protective plates configured for absorbing forces to prevent excessive forces from being transferred between cells. Such plates may, in some embodiments, further be configured to dissipate heat from or otherwise cool the battery cells. The present inventors have proposed various embodiments in order to overcome one or more of the aforementioned limitations and/or other limitations of the prior art, as described in detail below.